Author: Mike

My name is Mike and I am the founder of the Houston Historic Retail! I have been running this site since 2015. For more information check out the About page!

Half Price Books has left The Village

In July of 1981 Half Price Books opened in a prominent spot on University Boulevard. The first store to be built at the corner of University and Kirby was White House, which opened in June of 1941. A local department store chain, they were known for building smaller sized locations throughout the Houston suburbs. It would be purchased by the Meyer family, a group of family members who had been employed in various positions with …

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According to some old Chronicle Ads this was originally a Phillips 66.

Demolition Report: My attempt at a classic, February’s Retail Demolition Report

As with many of my current readers, I still have a huge, Swamplot shaped hole in my heart. The rise in my frequency of posting is largely due in part to a few readers contacting me and mentioning that this site helped somewhat to fill the void. In my research I sometimes check demolition reports. I have been wanting to share the demolition reports I’ve seen. However, I wanted to make some distinctions from Swamplot’s …

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Welcome back Taco Bueno!

Welcome back readers, this week we find ourselves at a closed Carl’s Jr. Not for an update on the departed burger joint, but rather what will be taking its place. Back in April of 2019 Taco Bueno announced their intent to repurpose the building. For those unaware,  Taco Bueno is a mid size quick service “Tex-Mex” style restaurant. Take that categorization with a grain of salt, as their menu somewhat resembles Taco Bell’s. Although a …

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This location at Highway 6 and Empanada Blvdopened in 1992 and closed in 1997 after Kmart moved up Highway 6 to a former Venture across from West Oaks Mall.

Mercado Cerrado

In a somewhat shocking update to the Mercado 6/Big Kmart saga, the flea market in West Houston has bit the dust. The store which I visited on two separate occasions in the past few years, has been purchased and gutted. The news seemed to break early this year around the time I published my last update. A few online reviews noted that “the store” was closed, but I naively assumed this meant individual shops. Driving …

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7-Eleven’s less than triumphant Houston return

Interested in 7-Eleven locations coming to Houston? Find out the latest news here! As with many of the subjects of my website, Houstonians of a certain age will remember when one of the largest convenience stores in the area was 7-Eleven. Originally founded in urgh… Dallas, the chain operated under the name “Tote’m” initially. It would not be until after World War II that the store would famously change their name to represent store hours …

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Grocery Options may have left the Target on Eldridge

During my recent blog post about the Super Target downgrade in Missouri City, I realized that another Super Target may have fared a similar fate. Looking back through my photos, I found some of the Super Target at Eldridge and Westheimer during construction. I wasn’t paying a great deal of attention at the time, but looking back at them now, I believe the grocery section may have been shrunk. My reasoning behind this lies partly …

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What’s left of West Oaks Mall

Update 1/2022: Obviously this article gained traction somewhere on Facebook, but I can’t figure out where. I was actually already in the middle of preparing a more recent update to the mall, including some photos from the last month. If one of you kind souls could share with me which group/page this post was shared on, I’d appreciate it! -Mike Welcome back, today we’re taking a look at West Oaks Mall. A place which is …

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